Sialolith in Submandibular Gland- a Report of Three Cases and Review of Literature

www.johronline.com 83 | P a g e For Correspondence: [email protected] Received on: September 2014 Accepted after revision: October 2014 Downloaded from: www.johronline.com Introduction Sialolithiasis is a common disorder of salivary glands, it is a condition characterized by the obstruction of a salivary gland or its excretory duct due to formation of sialolith, further resulting in infection of salivary gland or duct. It is estimated that it affects 12 in 1000 individuals in the adult population. The prevalence of sialolithiasis in children is very less. Males are affected twice as much as female patients.If the patient is giving the history of swelling in salivary gland region during mealtimes, then the diagnosis of ‘sialolithiasis’ should be considered. Most salivary calculi (80% to 95%) occur in submandibular gland, whereas 5% to 20% are found in the parotid gland. [4] The reason for this could be high mineral content present in the saliva, more viscous type of salivary flow, longer and tortuous nature of salivary duct of the submandibular gland. The causative agents for sialoliths are unknown, but inflammation is the widely accepted causative condition. [5] Commonly sialoliths found are less than 1 cm in size but in literature sialoliths of unusual shape and size are revealed. [6] The aim of this article is to report three cases of submandibular sialolith and the discussion of its clinical aspect. Abstract: Sialolithiasis (salivary stones) is the most common disorder of the salivary glands. The majority of sialoliths developing in the salivary glands are in submandibular gland or its duct (Wharton’s duct). There are many theories that have been proposed in the literature for the formation of salivary calculi. This article discusses review of literature, clinical and radiographic case report of three patients with sialolithiasis.